European bathing water quality in 2024

This briefing provides information on the quality of Europe’s bathing waters and is complemented by a map viewer to help people make informed decisions about where to bathe. It is published in the context of the European Union’s zero pollution action plan and is based on analysis of data reported by EU Member States for the 2021-2024 bathing seasons as required under the Bathing Water Directive (BWD) (EU, 2006).

Key messages

In 2024, over 85% of EU’s bathing waters at almost 22,000 locations were rated excellent, while 96% of them met at least the minimum quality required by the BWD — the same proportion as in the previous year. However, 1.5% of the EU’s bathing waters were of poor quality, indicating that management measures were not always adequate or not being implemented at all.

There is still significant pollution of surface- and groundwater, which is not captured by the assessment under the BWD. This pollution may be further exacerbated by climate change. Improving water resilience for people and for the environment is of paramount importance.

The quality of coastal bathing waters is generally better than that of rivers and lakes. In 2024, around 89% of coastal bathing waters in the EU were classified as excellent, compared with 78% of inland bathing waters.

Green and blue solutions, combined with conventional stormwater and untreated wastewater storage infrastructures, where needed, can benefit bathing water quality in densely populated urban areas.